Legalization is the process of removing a legal ban against something that is currently not legal. Legalization is a process that often applies to what those working for legalization consider victimless crimes, an example of which is the use of illegal drugs (see Legalization of Drugs). When drug use and possession is decriminalized, no criminal charges apply. Still, the momentum seems to be on the side of marijuana legalization, with states from New York to Florida and Arizona considered potential candidates for legalization in the coming years.
Beginning with the Obama administration, the federal government has also taken a relaxed approach to marijuana legalization at the state level, generally allowing states to do whatever they want as long as they meet certain criteria (such as not allowing legal marijuana to fall into the hands of children or crossing state borders). The Trump administration suggested a harder line would be taken under Attorney General Jeff Sessions, but current Attorney General William Barr retracted the tougher approach and said he would more or less return to Obama-era policies. So even though states and voters support legalizing marijuana, the federal government is still on track. After addicts got their legal solution, they went out and stole, stole and murdered to get more, from illegal sources.
This is what happened when heroin was legalized in Britain. Michigan (HR 15) recently urged the United States Congress to clarify its position on the legality of marijuana under the Federal Controlled Substances Act. People aged 12 to 20 were 5 to 6 percent more likely to try marijuana for the first time when medical use was legalized. At the same time, even some advocates of legalization worry about how legalization is developing in states with concerns that a “large marijuana industry may market marijuana irresponsibly, as tobacco, alcohol and opioid companies have done.
Opponents of legalization worry that fully allowing recreational use of marijuana would make marijuana too accessible and, as a result, expand its use and misuse. The authors point out that the 6 to 9 percent increase in the frequency of excessive alcohol consumption in adults, together with an estimated increase in the likelihood of concurrent marijuana and alcohol use of 15 to 22 percent, suggests that legalization could result in considerable economic and social costs derived from health waters lower care costs and loss of productivity. Soon other states may also have laws and policies to legally control the marijuana market, so that consumers can purchase it for their own use from a safe legal source. Vermont and DC do not allow the sale, which means that it is not yet legal to buy and sell marijuana in either jurisdiction, although residents of both locations can legally grow it.
The NCSL also sent a letter in support of text that prohibits the Department of Justice from using justice funds for enforcement actions against states with legal medical marijuana laws. If Colorado and Washington manage to keep their retail marijuana businesses fully in-state, it may be legal. Legalization increased the likelihood of teens starting marijuana use in the past year by 0.32 to 0.46 percent, an increase of 5 to 6 percent. Critics of legalization also claim that marijuana is a “gateway” drug that can lead people to try more dangerous drugs such as cocaine and heroin, because there is a correlation between marijuana use and the use of harder drugs.
And while marijuana isn't as risky as these other legal drugs, it still poses risks, in particular, the possibility of addiction. Recently, New Jersey (AB) 2 legalized certain personal use, while eliminating marijuana as a Schedule I drug. For example, black market marijuana continues to be sold in Colorado despite legalization and remains illegal. While there is still a difficult path for legislation to a presidential signature, talks have been renewed on the difference between decriminalization and legalization of marijuana and why it is an important distinction.
And in DC, the allocation of “gifts” has led some vendors, in a legally dubious practice, to sell products such as juices or stickers that come with “marijuana gifts”. . .
